Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State volleyball team's drive toward a conference championship continues this evening when the fourth-seeded Red Hawks head to Galloway, NJ to face top-seeded Stockton University.

The Red Hawks (19-9) and Ospreys (26-7) meet a 7pm with a trip to the NJAC Championship Game on the line. The winner moves on to Saturday's title contest at the site of the highest remaining seed. Third-seeded Kean and No. 2 seed Rowan battle in the other semifinal on Thursday.

Montclair State earned its trip to the semifinals after sweeping past fifth-seeded Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday evening at the Panzer Athletic Center. Freshman CARLY WATERMAN collected 13 kills as the Red Hawks defeated the Scarlet Raiders 25-18, 25-4 and 25-22. Stockton by virtue of its regular-season championship had a first-round bye.

It's been a one-sided series between the teams throughout the years with Stockton winning 48 of the 51 matchups including this year's 3-1 victory in Galloway on October 9. However, it's been in the NJAC Tournament where Montclair has claimed two of those victories. The first came in 2007 when the Red Hawks downed the Ospreys in five sets en route to the conference championship that season. Nine years later MSU did it again this time in stunning fashion rallying from a 2-0 deficit for another five-set victory. That win propelled the Red Hawks to the 2016 NJAC title.

Waterman, LEAH HIGGINS and senior NATALIA MAJKUT all hit double figures in kills for MSU, in the loss at Stockton back in October. After Montclair won the first set 25-21, Stockton took the final three 25-14, 27-25 and 25-14. Waterman posted a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs while Higgins added 13 kills. Majkut tallied 10 along with two digs and a block. Senior ASHLEY GRIFFITH put up 34 assists with libero ALEXANDRA CAMPOS totaling a team-best 14 digs.

Stockton enters the semifinal having won five of its last six matches. Allie Desmond leads the Ospreys offensive attack with 452 kills this season and a .295 hitting percentage. Julie Kohlhoff had 183 with Christie Louer and Franceska Gustave each posting 144 kills. Stockton has eight players with 100 or more kills. Emily Sullivan runs the offense with 825 assists and a team-best 68 service aces. Gustave and Kohlhoff have been tough at the net for the Ospreys with 95 and 86 blocks respectively. Natalie Miller has recorded a team-leading 506 digs.

MSU counters with Waterman (291) and Higgins (205), who both topped the 200-kill mark for the season. Majkut has 177 kills along with a team-best 60 blocks. Griffith has 760 assists and is tied with Higgins for the team lead in aces with 26.

Montclair State is making its 26^th appearance in the NJAC Tournament since becoming a sport in 1989. The Red Hawks are 187-26 in that span with most of the losses coming in its infancy when the tournament was a round-robin play. Montclair has won three championships – 1997along with the aforementioned crowns in 2007 and 2016.